Neglected economy first task for new Spanish Cabinet

Press, 6 July 1977, Page 9

Neglected economy first task for new Spanish Cabinet

NZPA Madrid A new Spanish Cabinet will be sworn in today before starting work on the serious economic problems which have been neglected during the country’s transition from dictatorship to democracy.

’ Deputy Minister (Lieutenant-; (General Manuel Gutierrez; (Mellado) as head of one, 'Defence Ministry. The creation of the unified. (Ministry is aimed at ensur-i i ing that the armed forces no ( i longer play any role in the I political life of the nation —I 'as they did under the late I | General Franco. An official statement said! ' the Ministry was formed “to! ■ modernise the armed forces! 1 and unify the chain of pbli-| itical command.” ; The 19-man Cabinet,; ; drawn entirely from tjjel ' Prime Minister’s Centrist( 'coalition that won the Par-; lliamentary elections last; (month, will be sworn in and; ; then meet informally to dis- 1 'cuss the problems facing it. ( ! Mr Suarez, who was ap-i i pointed by King Carlos a 1 I year ago, kept the Foreign I Minister (Mr Marcelino' j Oreja) and five other mem-1 bers of the out-going Cabi-i (net. The reappointment of Mr 'Oreja was confirmation of 'the Government’s objective

All political parties agree; that the second Government! of the Prime Minister (Mr; Adolfo Suarez) must take'strong measures to rescue lan economy sinking under; the pressure of high in-j flation and a heavy balance-! of-payments deficit. Mr Suarez has been ac-|. cused by businessmen of dis-1 regarding the economy since' he took office a year ago. Now the Prime Minister; I has appointed a brilliant l (economist as deputy Prime h I Minister’ in charge of what • amounts to a “super Econ-i, omics Ministry.” He is Mr Enrique Fuente i, Quintana, aged 52, director; Of studies and planning at;: the Spanish Confederation of; Savings Banks and one of 41 !< senators appointed by King' Juan Carlos to the Upper; ! House of the new two-cnam-' Iber Parliament. I In his new Government,; ' announced yesterday’, Mr; I Suarez has abolished the( ■ three separate Ministries for (the Army, Navy, and Air; Force and appointed the!

•of joining the European .; Common Market and si strengthening relations with Spain’s Arab oil suppliers. I. Yesterday, Spain expelled I the second Russian official i in four months. for alleged > I espionage. • j Mr Guennady Vassilievich ;(Sveshnikov was picked up Iby Spanish counter-espion-:|age agents near Madrid last i j Saturday with classified ; I defence documents in his ■ j possession,-' the Government ,(,. -He had been in Spain tor; a year working for the joint] jSo v 1 e t-Spanish shipping' (firm, Intramr, one of the] I State-run Soviet companies; ! that had been working in I Spain long before the two; I countries established diplo-i ■ Imatic relations last Febru-I i 1 ary. i The national news agency, (Cifra. reported that Mr • I Sveshnikov, who is about ■ ;47, was arrested near the l eighteenth-century Royal •'palace of Aranjuez, a tourist f;attraction about 50 km (30 smiles) south of Madrid.